EEC 2025. Poland has a new capital of high technologies. Against the background of the EU, we have nothing to be ashamed of

• Poland will have its own digital map, and the technological heart of the country is currently Poznań - said the panelists during the discussion entitled "Poland in digital transformation", which took place in Katowice as part of the 17th European Economic Congress.
• In June this year, the capital of Wielkopolska will host a European quantum computer and AI factory. All thanks to the efforts of engineers from the Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center (PCSS).
• The government and public institutions representatives present at the discussion assured that the level of high technologies in Poland is advanced. The same is true of the digitalization of public services.
• 9 million Poles use the mObywatel application, but local governments still have a digital debt to make up.

The whole world knows Silicon Valley in the United States, but where is the heart of Polish technology? There are many indications that Poznań is currently such a digital capital of the country, thanks to the achievements of the Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center (PCSS) , which is a research and development unit of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Thanks to the efforts of engineers employed at PCSS , a European quantum computer will be placed there in June , and the current Proxima computer is 83rd on the TOP 500 list . The center also successfully applied for a location for a new AI factory .

- We are a unique node that combines the network, high-performance computers, quantum technologies, and AI - said the plenipotentiary director for the Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center (PCSS) Robert Pękal.

As he added, his center has been supporting Polish science, economy and public sector with infrastructure and services for 31 years. - We are also cooperating more and more with entrepreneurs - he noted.

- We are the operator of the Pionier network, which has 11 thousand km of optical fibers , we connect all academic centers in the country, academic hospitals and many public entities, providing infrastructure with high throughputs - said Pękal.

Poland has something to be proud of. We have six leading high-tech centers in the country

Pękal pointed out that PCSS is not the only technologically advanced centre in the country, there are 6 such places. Kraków, Gdańsk, Warsaw, Świerk and Wrocław also have such centres.

- In a moment Cyfronet (Academic Computer Center Cyfronet in Krakow - ed.), will also apply for the location of the AI ​​factory, while Wrocław will launch its quantum computer. The development of these centers is therefore relatively even - Pękal gave examples.

In turn, Marcin Wysocki, deputy director of the Cybersecurity Department at the Ministry of Digital Affairs, said that when it comes to the development of AI and semiconductor factories, we as a country are in the same situation as the entire European Union.

- We need them and as a state we must create such conditions for investment, incentives for investors so that such factories can be built here - said Wysocki.

Poland must be ready for any scenario. We cannot rely on a single source of supply.

As Wysocki recalled, this is particularly important in the context of decisions made in the United States in January this year . Let us recall that the new American administration has introduced regulations restricting the export of advanced semiconductors for artificial intelligence (AI), including for Central and Eastern European countries, including Poland.

- We absolutely cannot give up in this situation, although over 90 percent of semiconductors come from import. This has shown that we cannot rely on a single source of supply. We should talk to partners from the European Union, South Korea or Taiwan - Wysocki enumerated.

As he emphasized, Poland should strive to be a leader in high technologies, focus on the latest solutions and adapt them to our needs, but we should also have "autonomous capabilities to build, for example, our own chipsets."

Business in Poland is ready for digital transformation. Data center construction and bottlenecks

In turn, board member and director of Emitel's technology department Jerzy Godek assured that business is also ready for digital transformation and such changes are already taking place in the country. Among Emitel's investments, he mentioned smart metering, digital management of city lighting and 5G networks, private networks, as well as building data centers.

The deputy director of the Central Information Technology Centre (COI) Jacek Siemionczyk also took part in the discussion on the future of Polish digitalization. He stated that as a country we are approaching European standards , an example of which is the PolishCloud 2.0 Standard.

However, the task of the state – as he emphasized – is education and activities that increase public confidence in public institutions .

According to Siemionczyk, compared to other EU countries - in terms of the level of digitalization - we are doing very well, although it may not be visible in official statistics.

As an example of success, he mentioned the mObywatel application , which is already used by 9 million Poles .

He also added that we will soon be able to use digital identities in Europe without the need to authenticate ourselves with ordinary documents.

However, as he admitted, not all public administration is at such an advanced level, because local governments still have to "make up the digital debt" .